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ANSWERS
TO TOUGH QUESTIONS
By Catherine Clark
Kroeger
Q. My church does
not believe that women should be elders, based on the phrase in
1 Timothy 3 that says elders must have one wife. Does this
phrase really exclude women and single people from being elders?
How should I approach this subject at my church?
A. Actually, the language in 1
Timothy 3:2 is “episkopos”—bishop or overseer, whereas in
Titus 1:6 it is the “presbyteros”—elder—who is required
to have no more than one wife. Strange as it sounds nowadays,
ancient Jewish law permitted Israelite men to have more than one
wife. In the New Testament era, it was a matter of some
satisfaction that Hebrew males enjoyed this prerogative while
Gentiles did not. Ancient literary records speak of two or more
wives among the priestly class, and even Josephus appears to
have been married to two women at the same time. A collection of
documents discovered in the Judean wilderness preserve a legal
brief of two women who had been married simultaneously to the
same man and were now contesting against each other the right to
his property. The practice of polygamy among Hebrew men
continued until it was abolished by the code of Justinian in
565.
The aforementioned biblical passages give us a composite list
of characteristics that make a person unsuitable for the office
of elder: not open to reproach, not given to drunkenness, not
violent, not quarrelsome, not overbearing, not pursuing
dishonest gain, not a lover a money, not a recent convert, not
having trouble managing his own family.
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In some versions
presbytes is translated “elder” while the
feminine term in the next verse is rendered “old
woman.” Nevertheless,
presbytis was used in early Christian literature
to denote female presbyters. |
The direction that a male elder have only one wife appears to
serve as a specific disqualification for those with multiple
wives. It is not necessary, however, for an elder to be married
at all. Indeed, the Apostle Paul maintained that his singleness
gave him far greater freedom to further the cause of Christ (1
Cor 7:32-35). One may consider the young Timothy, presumably
still unmarried, upon whom the presbytery had laid hands (1 Tim.
4:14).
A church is best served by heeding the call to quality of
life that is required for an elder. A church that refuses to
allow women to serve in the office of elder might well reflect
on the list of both positives and negatives that should be
considered in the selection of elders. In point of fact, the
letter to Titus (2:3-5) also gives a list for those who hold the
title of presbytis, the feminine word that corresponds to
the masculine presbytes. In some versions presbytes
is translated “elder” while the feminine term in the next verse
is rendered “old woman.” Though often translated as “old woman,”
presbytis was used in early Christian literature to
denote female presbyters (Lampe, Patristic Greek Lexicon lc 2B).
There is a qualification list for these women: reverent in life
style, not slanderers or addicted to much wine. They must be
hieroprepeis (worthy of the priesthood), again an indication
of fitness for a special office. They were also to be “teachers
of good things.”
It might be helpful to point out to a church nominating
committee the qualifications of a woman whose life and conduct
best reflect these scriptural instructions for eldership. We
will be more faithful to the Word of God as we seek such persons
to serve the body of Christ.
This article first appeared in
Mutuality (Spring 2008, Vol. 15, Issue 1) and is
used with permission. |
Catherine Clark Kroeger
